


The More it Takes Away

by Katlou303



Series: The ripples of petals [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Because Sakura Loves Everyone, Dogs, Everyone Loves Sakura, Family, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Haruno Sakura-centric, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mokuton, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, MultiSaku - Freeform, POV Haruno Sakura, Strong Haruno Sakura, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18795937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katlou303/pseuds/Katlou303
Summary: Sakura has grown up a lot since she first met Kagami, and they've both changed for the better. But Sakura's not perfect, Kagami is not free, and neither of them are prepared to take on the future Kagami has begun to forget, and Sakura is scared to see.





	The More it Takes Away

_Sakura doesn’t die peacefully in her own bed, surrounded by the family she has made. She doesn’t even die on the battlefield, surrounded by enemies and corpses._

_Instead, Haruno Sakura dies in a quiet little copse, completely and utterly alone, aged sixteen, almost seventeen._

_She dies in agony, pain wracking, tearing and biting through her in waves until she almost loses her mind. She holds onto one thing:_ I wasn’t easy to kill.

_Sakura walks through a broken forest, trees wrenched up at the root, snapped in half or turned to charcoal, some still smouldering. The fires in Konoha have been put out, but the forest encircling the village still bears the scars of battle._

_She’s following a half-hearted request an unfamiliar jounin gave her – some chuunin went to scout ahead in the woods, checking for wounded survivors and any lingering enemy presence, and they didn’t return at the appointed time. She’d gone to grab Shikamaru or Sai to join her, but they’d both been sent out on missions. Probably more important than hers, chasing down wayward chuunin with no sense of punctuality. She hadn’t considered taking Naruto with her. He’s still processing everything – the grief over lost ones suddenly reversing when they were revived, his new status as hero of Konoha, and more Sakura’s not privy to yet – and she doesn’t want to bother him with trivial matters. Even if it would have been nice to feel like teammates again._

_Sakura examines the woods with a detached yet practised eye. Every Konoha nin knows how to search a forest, knows exactly what is and isn’t normal to see, hear and smell when surrounded by trees._

_The first sign that anything is wrong isn’t the rapidly-weakening chakra signals she can sense from ahead. It isn’t the unnaturally quiet forest, the silence oppressive around Sakura’s figure, cautiously pressing onwards towards the flickering chakra. It’s what she sees when she peers into the copse, hiding behind a relatively-unscathed tree._

_It’s the sight of platinum blonde hair spilling across grass, silken threads winding through green reeds. It’s the sickening lurch in Sakura’s stomach as she recognises Ino’s body without her spirit in it. It’s a sight she has seen more times than she can count: in harmless pranks against Sakura’s childhood bullies, in class as Ino demonstrates her talent for espionage, in a one-on-one fight during the exams, back when Sakura still thought the opinion of one boy was worth giving up a good friend._

_Seeing Ino like this, seemingly vulnerable and yet clearly actively at work, it should have been as normal as any other time. It wouldn’t be so unsettling to see, if Sakura didn’t take one more step, Ino’s clouded-over eyes coming into view._

_There’s blood pooling around her head._ A fatal blow to the head, _Sakura’s instincts inform her, as cold and remote as the rest of her. She feels as if she is floating away from herself, becoming completely untethered from what her body is experiencing: the sight of Ino’s face, the still-wet sheen of blood, the quiet clicking of beaks from carrion crows in the trees above._

Ino is dead _, Sakura thinks. She’s never thought that before, not once in all her years of near-misses and hospital stays and missions going awry. She had never once thought Ino was dead._

_Sakura forgets about protocol, everything the Academy and then Tsunade drilled into her. She forgets that she is a valuable medic, a precious resource in a turbulent time of war. She walks into the copse, ignoring the possibility that a threat still lingers._ Ino is dead. What else matters?

_“No! Ino! Don’t you dare, you stupid Ino-pig! Ino, please!” A spill of platinum blonde hair, a streak of scarlet, and Sakura hopes with every breath that something will change, that those eyes will open once more –_

_When she looks up, she sees more._

_She’s too late. Chouji’s collapsed from exhaustion, his side blackened with ash and gore. Ino is close, face-down in a puddle of blood. Shikamaru is still alive, she thinks, though not for long._

_Sakura turns Shikamaru over just in time to feel his chakra cut off. Dead. Just like Chouji. Just like Ino. Sakura feels a scream building up inside her. Is this a nightmare? It must be. She can’t live in a world where her friends can be torn away so easily, so cruelly, so close to home. To help. Wasn’t she supposed to be done with being useless now?_

_She feels oddly disconnected from herself. She looks up, vision blurring, and sees Sasuke. Watching her. “Where’s Naruto?” He asks. She does scream, then._

_Uchiha Sasuke is standing before her, his sword coated in blood._

Ino’s blood, _Sakura thinks, noting the stab wounds she had missed in Ino’s chest. Neat. No feeling behind the blows._

_She looks at Sasuke, at his too-white face, the purple bags beneath his eyes, the sweat-soaked hair dripping into his eyes. There’s a ring of white around his irises as he stares at her._

_“It’s you,” Sasuke says, utterly detached. When he looks at her, he sees nothing at all. “Where’s Naruto?”_

_Ino is dead._

_It was Sasuke._

_And she is **alone**._

“Onee-chan,” A little voice says timidly.

Sakura looks down and sees herself.

She’s small, about seven or eight. Her hair is braided into two plaits, long enough to reach the small of her back. When she tugs Sakura’s wrist, she sees her little fingernails are painted pink.

“You’re dreaming again,” Little Sakura says. She keeps her eyes away from Ino, from Sasuke, from everything but Sakura’s face.

“You have to leave,” Sakura says, without any real urgency. He’ll kill her anyway. What does it matter? Ino is –

“Ino-chan is alive and she’s going to stay that way,” Little Sakura says firmly.

“But – ” Sakura dares to glance at Sasuke, his stare raw and hungry on her face, hand twitching around his sword’s hilt.

“He can’t do anything,” Sakura shrugs, “You killed him. And now we’re going to stop him from ever being bad in the first place. Do you remember, Kagami-nee?”

_Kagami._ It sounds familiar, somehow.

“That’s your name now. Do you remember what we said we would do when you had bad dreams?” Little Sakura’s eyes are huge and earnest. Sakura can’t remember ever looking so hopeful.

Sakura makes the mistake of looking down. Ino’s frozen stare meets her eyes, and her breath hitches.

A warm hand takes hers.

“She’s okay. I promise. She’s only little right now, but soon she’ll be just like you remember. Why don’t you tell me about her?” Little Sakura asks, gently intertwining their fingers.

Sakura takes a deep breath, and does.

Time passes, but it’s hard to say how much. The forest turns hazy all around them as Sakura talks about Ino, about her fearlessness, her utter lack of shame, her pride and ego, her well-hidden soft side. Eventually, Sakura feels herself start to return, the floating sensation dissipating until all that’s left is the tiny hand in hers, and the warmth of Ino’s memory.

“Thank you, Sacchan,” Kagami says, remembering all at once.

Sakura’s face brightens, “Any time, Onee-chan.”

xxxxxxxx

Sakura wakes up in a garden of flowers.

Daffodils poke through her mattress, bright yellow blooms mixing with her pale pink hair, their cheerful heads pointing towards her face as if waiting for her to speak. Daisies are wrapped around her fingers like tiny rings, soft petals tickling her skin. Peonies press against her side, shedding fat petals onto her bedsheets. White roses cushion the soles of her feet.

Sakura gasps in horror, inhaling the unmistakeably heady scent of a garden in full bloom.

Misa and Momo are both deep in sleep. Momo is happily curled up at the foot of Sakura’s bed, untouched by the flowery invasion, but Misa is hanging off the side, held up by vines. Her nose is just brushing the floor, her tail wagging gently.

_Onee-chan_!

_You ruined your bed,_ Kagami notes wryly, _who knew flowers could do that?_

_It’s not funny, Onee-chan! I’ve been trying so hard with my lessons with Tenzo-nii, and I still keep messing up my Mokuton. This is the worst it’s ever been! What will Okaa-san and Otou-san say?_ Sakura says, aghast, as she starts plucking the vines off Misa, who doesn’t even twitch, boneless in sleep.

_Maybe it’s time to tell them,_ Kagami says, serious, _I understand the urge to protect them from the truth, but you can’t do it forever, and they need to be able to help you hide your Mokuton. They can’t keep being part of the problem for you._

_You said the more people know about my Mokuton, the worse it will be. Kit-kun says secrets get weaker the more they’re told. What if I tell our parents and then ROOT find out and they hurt them to get to me?_

_If ROOT find out, they will assume our parents already know,_ Kagami says grimly, _you’ve got to the point where you can use Mokuton even while_ unconscious _, Sacchan. You can’t keep up this charade. How will you explain flowers growing through your mattress overnight?_

“I just won’t!” Sakura says out loud, jumping off the bed, spraying petals everywhere. Misa snorts in surprise, gambolling onto the floor. She blinks, then licks Sakura’s foot in greeting. Momo stretches on the bed, then nimbly leaps down. They’ve both grown so much over the past few years. Sakura’s mother says they aren’t puppies anymore, but Sakura disagrees. They will always be her babies.

_Wow, why didn’t I think of that._

Sakura ignores the sarcasm, focusing on dragging her mattress onto the floor, wincing at the mess of broken flowers, leaves and petals shed all over the sheets. She opens her wardrobe, effortlessly lifting the contents just by seizing them around the middle and pulling them from their hangers. She pushes as many clothes as possible underneath her now-naked bed, then violently shoves her mattress into her wardrobe. She hears springs snap in protest and winces.

She stands back, regarding her work.

_Perfect,_ Kagami says dryly, _now your clothes are screwed up underneath your bed, which has no mattress, and you can’t put anything in your wardrobe, because it’s stuffed full of mattress._

Sakura carefully covers her bed with as many blankets as she can, trying to give the appearance of a full mattress. There’s no getting around it, though. It’s very obviously deflated.

_What am I going to do?_ Sakura wails.

_Tell our parents the truth._

_Isn’t there anything else I can do?_

Kagami sighs, _enlist Tsunade in your mad endeavour to hide your increasingly obvious abilities?_

_Ooh!_ Sakura perks up, _that might work!_

This time, Kagami doesn’t even bother to sigh. Sakura can just feel her disapproval. Over the years, their connection has strengthened and sharpened to the point where Sakura knows exactly which feelings are hers, and which are her big sister’s. Shisui had once separated them, which had helped stop most of the dreams from bleeding through Kagami to Sakura. Some things still slip through, and Kagami suffers nightmares almost every time they sleep. Sakura is very rarely dragged in with her, but always chooses to join if she can. She would never leave Kagami to endure her memories alone.

Kagami doesn’t know that, though. She thinks Sakura always falls into her nightmares by accident and has been working hard to keep her out for her own good. If she knew Sakura intentionally followed her in, she’d get mad. Sakura just can’t bear to shut her eyes and ignore the pain locked tightly away in her sister’s mind.

_What are you going to wear today, since most of your clothes are now stuffed under your bed?_ Kagami asks.

Sakura gasps, pollen escaping her mouth in a burst of sunshine yellow.

_Wipe your chin, Sacchan. You look like you’ve been eating buttercups._

Misa scratches the wardrobe door, whining to be let in. She wants to eat flowers, too.

Sakura sighs.

The day’s already difficult and she’s not even had breakfast yet.

xxxxxxxx

Sakura ends up wearing a slightly too small dress she found at the bottom of her laundry basket. It’s a testament to her eccentric fashion choices that her parents don’t even blink at the sight of her. She’s paired the dress with an oversized grey cardigan and striped leggings.

_The dreams are becoming clearer,_ Kagami says, pensive, _sharper. More focused. I’m remembering more. I think._

_That’s good!_ Sakura says, sensing that Kagami disagrees.

Her older self is silent as Sakura eats breakfast, deep in thought. Sakura waits patiently for her to emerge from her musings, chewing happily on pancakes. She covered hers with syrup in the shape of a dog face. She’s still no good at any kind of art, so it looks more like a blobby mess. It’s still delicious.

_It_ is _good, I know, but… I’m afraid,_ Kagami admits, running her hands over the scarred flesh of her arms, the skin still healing from the deep welts the chains left all those years ago. _What if I remember something terrible? Something that changes everything? There’s so much I_ know _I’m missing._

Sakura doesn’t pry, but Kagami’s fears are strong enough to briefly push against Sakura’s mind. She sees Naruto’s eyes open just as Kagami disappears, ripping away from his outstretched hand in a blaze of light. The image is weak and distorted – just a secret fear Kagami’s imagining, not a real memory.

_You’re forgetting something right now,_ Sakura says softly, _you and I know we would never leave Naruto. Not by mistake and not on purpose. Maybe we don’t know everything that happened to you, but we know who you are. Okay?_

Kagami’s smiles are rare, often quick, self-conscious flashes. She ducks her head to hide her upturned lips, _thanks, Sacchan._

_It’s okay_ , Sakura says, shoving another forkful of pancake into her mouth, _do you think pancakes will help me get taller?_

She feels Kagami bite back an instinctive _no_.

_Of course,_ Kagami says instead, not voicing all the nutritional facts Sakura knows are running through her mind.

Sakura grumbles, licking syrup off her fingers. _Nothing nice is good for you. It’s so unfair. Dango is too good to be bad. But I really want to be tall!_

Sakura hadn’t taken it well when she realised just how short her future self really was. Kagami had always looked tall to her, even back when she was huddled against an imaginary wall, twisted and chained. Now Sakura knows Kagami is shorter than both their parents, Genma, Kakashi, and even _Itachi._

It’s monstrously unfair. None of them even care about being tall, they just _are_. And when questioned as to how they did it, they all said different things. Genma said he’s not actually tall for a guy, which Sakura disagreed with. Kakashi said he did stretches with Gai every day, which made his legs longer. Sakura believed that for a full year before Tsunade set her straight. And Itachi had simply said he ate a healthy diet, exercised, and had tall parents. Sakura can’t have all those things.

And worst of all, Kitagawa.

He was taller than all of them but hid it by walking with an exaggerated stoop. He didn’t stretch with Gai, because he was scared of him, and he definitely didn’t eat a healthy diet. Sakura can count on one hand the times she’s seen him eat, and every single time it was something he picked up off the floor. She’s half-convinced he doesn’t actually need to eat. Or maybe he eats the things he steals from Jiraiya.

“Breakfast with the Senju today?” Kitagawa enquires, casually loping after Sakura as she walks down the street. She’s gotten used to having a bodyguard over the years, and he feels more like a too-tall playmate rather than an authority figure.

Kitagawa had been devastated when he found out that Izanagi used his sword to hurt Sakura. He hadn’t wanted to use it in front of her again, but once she’d made it clear she didn’t blame him, he simply fixed the issue by smacking his sword off the ground several times and yelling _bad sword_!

“I already had breakfast, Kit-kun.” Sakura informs him, swinging her legs as much as possible as she walks, hoping the extra movement will help them grow longer over time. “It’s almost lunchtime. Did you forget?”

Kitagawa looks blank. He rarely eats, his figure as gamine and lanky as the day they first met, and he schedules his days around Sakura, not mealtimes. Sakura tries to feed him up, since he’s all sharp elbows and jutting bones. If it wasn’t for his soft cloak, he would be far too uncomfortable to hug. Sakura has offered him countless plastic bowls of imaginary soup and invited him to every tea party she’s held since meeting him. He usually does attend, looking bemused and oversized, crammed into one of her tiny plastic chairs.

Misa and Momo are trotting either side of Sakura. Once Sakura found out that the scarf Shisui gave Momo was actually his mother’s, she decided to take good care of it, so now it gets washed once a week (or more, if Momo’s rolled in something smelly), and Sakura checks it constantly for signs of wear. It’s much smaller on him now he’s a grown-up dog, so he wears it like a neckerchief. Misa still wears her ribbon around her neck, but the red has faded a little and it’s now closer to pink. Sakura’s hoping it will eventually be light enough to match her hair.

Sakura graduated from the Academy only a year after enrolling, just like Tsunade. Her parents were very happy for her, but Sakura could sense their how their chakra was tempered by concern. Tsunade had no such qualms, congratulating Sakura with a warmth only matched by her aura, glowing with pride.

Itachi had reacted poorly to the news. He had thought Sakura would stay on at the Academy, not leave just in time for Sasuke to finally enrol. When she came to tell him she was graduating, she was unsettled by the hollowed-out core in his aura, the black swirl of regret and resignation. His smile was beautiful, but it looked wrong, knowing how he really felt beneath it. People who faked the emotions on their face compared to their true feelings always seemed like scarecrows to Sakura, just a clumsy creature roughly hewn in the shape of a person. She hated being around Itachi when he wore his fake face.

Now, Sakura walks down the streets of Konoha, caught in the limbo between being a child and an adult. She has graduated from the Academy and she even has her own hitae-ate, but she won’t be considered a genin until she is assigned to a teacher and passes their test. She outranks everyone her own age – and plenty older than her – but she’s not allowed to go on missions, to book training grounds for her own personal use, to read scrolls above a certain rank, or to be employed.

Sakura idly stoops a little as she walks, her hands skimming Misa and Momo’s backs. They pant happily, eyes closed in bliss as the warm spring breeze flows their fur. Sakura fixes Misa’s lopsided ribbon.

She’s seven now, almost eight. When she was little, seven seemed like a thousand years away. Now she looks back and feels the distance between now and then even more strongly. She was a such a baby, once, too shy to play loudly, too afraid to speak up, only interested in reading books about adventures. Now she’d like to have a few of her own.

She graduated two years ago, much to the surprise and intrigue of the village. Over time, the interest in her has mostly faded, probably because she hasn’t done anything since leaving school. She’d like to change that, but for once Tsunade and her parents were in complete agreement: she was going to have a childhood whether she liked it or not.

The thing is, Sakura has mostly had her fill of being young. She knows Kagami had studied hard from the age of six to twelve and had been satisfied just with her daydreams of her future career. She had enjoyed her youth as best she could, having endless sleepovers with Ino while they were friends, and she remembered those years in a warm haze of summers blurring together.

If those were the only memories of Kagami’s that Sakura had seen, maybe she would be content to play with her brothers and Monsters, happy enough with her dolls and treehouse to wait until the rest of Team Seven graduated. But Sakura has seen so much more than the happy days Kagami once shared with Ino.

( _The village has fallen. Stone buildings pounded into nothing. All colour is erased. Everything she’s ever known is gone_.)

Sakura frowns, hands curling into fists. She’s strong enough to hold up the whole village, but Kagami has said that probably won’t help. She must find out who attacks Konoha and when. Poor Kagami turns blue in the face whenever she tries to explain it, that strange seal lighting up around her mouth, stealing her words away. Sakura has to find out on her own, but the years of endless waiting has left her itching and restless.

( _Sakura has the house’s foundations on her back. She’s running out of chakra. She can’t feel the pain anymore, just the burning urge to save her – to save them all. The sound of crumbling rock and groaning wood fills her world. Her eyes are squeezed shut, dripping sweat like tears off her face. And beneath her shaking legs is the broken body of her mother, her weak chakra signal flickering. Sakura holds onto that feeling like the house on her back. She knows her mother’s chakra as well as her voice. People are screaming in the distance. Her mother’s chakra flickers once, then_ – )

Sakura puffs her cheeks out, refusing to entertain the dream any longer. It’s not going to happen this time, so there’s no point dwelling on what could have been. Her mother will never be in danger. She already saved her father from his sudden illness. She can save her mother from the same threat that hangs over the entire village.

She senses a burst of sunshine-bright chakra in the bushes, a smile flickering across her face at the familiar sensation.

“SAKURA-NEE!” Naruto roars, a tiny blur atop his dog, Tamotsu.

Tamotsu leaps out of the bushes, soaring over Sakura’s head. She stares in awe as the enormous dog sails through the air, his bright red form eclipsing the sun for a brief, glorious moment. Then he lands heavily with a snort, his fuzzy ears flopping up. Naruto is tiny on Tamotsu’s back, but his grin is enormous.

“Naruto!” Sakura beams.

She misses her brother so much when he’s at the Academy. He’d complained night and day about not being able to attend with Sakura, but the excitement of finally starting his journey to become Hokage had helped him get over it. He has the Monsters with him at every second, which has proven to be a very good thing, since not everyone in the Academy is happy to be learning with Naruto in their midst. Ino has become adept at giving out swift, vicious pinches to mean classmates, and either the teachers fail to notice it, or they choose not to punish her. She’s not the only one taking on the role of protector.

Sasuke is surprisingly intolerant of bullies or ignorant children, and he will always punch first and ask questions later. He gets into the most fights out of all of them – something Sakura genuinely can’t tell if Fugaku is annoyed by or proud of – but it’s not just Naruto he defends. The boys who used to enjoy making fun of Hinata’s eyes stopped finding it funny when Sasuke tried to force one to eat his own shoe. The whole class has learned that Chouji’s weight is not a topic for discussion or mockery, unless they desperately want Sasuke to kick them in the face. Shikamaru has warmed up to Sasuke considerably ever since he developed his penchant for kicking bullies, as Shikamaru had been worried that him being in the year above would leave Chouji alone and vulnerable.

Shikamaru had told Sakura in secret that he could have graduated at some point last year but had deliberately messed up the test. Sakura keeps all Shikamaru’s secrets now, no matter how small, because Shikamaru knows about her Mokuton after seeing her hair grow flowers on its own.

Kitagawa perks up. If Naruto is around and causing trouble, a flustered Kai is sure to follow. There’s nothing Kitagawa enjoys more than winding Kai up until he’s too angry to speak.

Sure enough, Kai emerges from the bushes in a blaze of fire, looking around wildly until he spots the enormous red dog sitting in the street. Tamotsu wags his tail at the sight of his owner’s most frequent playmate.

“OI!” Kai shouts, pointing at Naruto’s wicked grin. “What have I told you about using Tamo-chan when we’re racing?”

“Not to do it, because it’s cheating,” Naruto replies promptly, his grin not fading a bit, “But if I don’t use Tamocchi, I’ll lose! It’s not my fault my legs are so much shorter than yours. The race is already unfair, so it’s fair if I cheat to make it not-unfair.”

“Makes sense to me,” Kitagawa shrugs.

Kai shoots him a scathing glare, “That’s because you have the moral integrity of a dinner plate.”

“Does that mean I’ve got the moral teg-ritty of a plate, too?” Naruto asks, looking genuinely upset. Sakura can feel his veiled mischief like a smile hidden behind a hand.

“I – uh, no, of course not, you’re – ” Kai struggles to reply, before snapping upright. “Haven’t you got homework to do?”

Naruto wilts.

Tamotsu gives a long, pitiful whine.

“I’ll help you!” Sakura says.

Naruto beams at her, “Thanks, Sakura-nee!”

Tamotsu starts padding towards the house. Naruto swings upside down on his back, whispering as they pass Sakura and her dogs, “I did it all already, but if I tell Kai that then he’ll make me do endurance training, which is the _worst_.”

Sakura giggles.

Kai eyes them both suspiciously, but Kitagawa distracts him by juggling knives a little too close to Naruto for comfort.

xxxxxxxx

Jiraiya is sitting in the kitchen, scratching his head over a table of papers. He looks tired, but he’s radiating smugness and excitement.

Tsunade is leaning against the counter, drinking coffee. Her hair is escaping her ponytail in pale wisps, her face wan. She must have just finished a shift at the hospital.

Naruto slips into the room, taking the seat next to Jiraiya, his chakra buzzing like a happy bee. He looks up at his godfather with big eyes, “What are we doing today, ji-san?”

Jiraiya scrubs his eyes and stretches, letting out a low rumble as his joints pop unhealthily. He regards Naruto with a lopsided grin, “Well, I was thinking about maybe finishing up that super seal project we’ve been working on for your Oba-san. What do you think?”

Naruto bounces in his seat, “Can we? Really? What about the flow? I thought it kept messing up and going _boom_!”

Tsunade finally looks up, giving Sakura a lethargic wave, “Oh. Morning, kid.”

“…Afternoon, Oba-san,” Sakura corrects hesitantly.

Tsunade makes a face, “Is it? That’ll be why I feel like death. Maybe I should have a nap…”

“No!” Naruto yells, then winces, looking quickly between Jiraiya and Tsunade. “Sorry,” He continues, whisper-shouting, “You can’t go to bed already, Oba-san! Wait for me and Tamotsu, and we can sleep on the sofa again, okay?”

“Naruto, Tsunade-hime is tired – ” Jiraiya starts, but Tsunade stands up straight, smiling.

“Nah, he’s right. I sleep better with the little one by my side, anyway,” Tsunade shrugs, “How about this, Naruto? You finish up your sealwork with Jiraiya while I feed Tenzo’s guinea pigs. Do you think you can finish in time?” She aims this last question at Jiraiya, subtly glancing his way.

“Of course! Ji-san’s the best sealmaster around, and that makes me the best sealmaster’s apprentice ever!” Naruto declares.

“Well, I don’t know about _best_ …” Jiraiya says, faux-sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. His chakra is preening like a cat from the compliment. “But yeah, the seal’s basically done. I just thought Naruto might want to add his signature to it.”

Tsunade glances over the papers, her eyebrow quirking in interest, “You’re getting faster at doing the impossible, Jiraiya. What was this, three years’ worth of work?”

Jiraiya demurs, waving an idle hand, “Oh, on and off, you know I had my other work to attend to – ”

“The dirty books for Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura says, matter of fact.

Jiraiya chokes.

Tsunade’s chakra starts burning, her fists glowing at once, “ _What_?”

“Kakashi-sensei’s books are dirty, and that’s why I shouldn’t try to peek at them,” Sakura explains, unsure of why Tsunade’s suddenly incandescent with rage, or why Jiraiya seems to be trying to sink into the floor, “And ji-san’s the one who wrote them, because he’s a pervert.” Sakura makes a face. Now that she thinks about it, she’s pretty sure ‘pervert’ is a bad word.

Tsunade’s glare strikes Kitagawa in the face, nearly bowling him over with just a threatening look.

“Whoa, whoa!” Kitagawa protests, holding his hands up. “She didn’t hear any of that from me! I swear, I’d never be that dumb!”

_I probably shouldn’t have said that,_ Sakura decides.

_Eh, it’s funny,_ Kagami shrugs. She never got over Jiraiya calling her flat-chested.

“Sorry for saying pervert,” Sakura says earnestly, then thinks a little more, “Twice.”

“Who told you those things, Sakura?” Tsunade says, trying to appear calm.

_I did,_ Kagami says cheerily.

Sakura grimaces, then taps her head twice, “No one, Oba-san! I just knew.”

Jiraiya ducks his head, looking morose that he’s apparently so obviously depraved even children can tell.

Tsunade didn’t miss Sakura’s signalling, tapping her head was her way of referring to her dreams or Kagami when she couldn’t just say it out loud.

Tsunade gives her a deeply disapproving look, but it’s aimed deeper, at Kagami, who gives a reflexive shudder. She remembers her former teacher’s punishments.

“What’s a dirty book?” Naruto pipes up.

The floorboards crack beneath Tsunade’s feet.

xxxxxxxx

For the first time since their very first meeting, Kabuto is the one to examine Sakura during her routine check-up.

_Though this is your third ‘routine’ check-up in eighteen months,_ Kagami remarks, _I don’t remember having anywhere near as many as you have, which means Konoha’s still making sure you’re not being abused._

Sakura tugs her dress down, scratching nervously at the fabric. The first check-up she had after gaining Kagami’s scar had been a minefield of polite but pointed questions from the nurse, in which the woman did her best to find out exactly how a five-year-old had received such an injury, let alone survived it without any recorded treatment.

Sakura had brought the issue to Tsunade, who quietly quashed it. Sakura’s still not quite sure what she did, but since then, no one has mentioned Sakura’s scars beyond noting the rate they’ve healed. Sakura’s parents still haven’t seen them. She’d insisted that she was too old to need help bathing and getting changed and was almost fanatical about making sure she never wore anything that would reveal the scars.

Everyone knows about the one between her collar bones, from the day Izanagi shoved Kitagawa’s sword through her chest. The scar it left would have been massive, but Tsunade had insisted on healing it herself, bit by bit every day until all that was left was a pale mark. Sakura doesn’t mind it. It looks like a half moon.

“Hello, Sakura-chan,” Kabuto says, pushing his glasses up and giving her an awkward but sincere smile. He’s been growing into himself recently, and he looks less like a boy and more like a man. “How have you been feeling? Any issues?”

Sakura ignores the faint itch between her shoulder blades, swinging her legs to get rid of a sudden burst of nervous energy, “Just the usual.”

Kabuto’s aura perks up in curiosity, concern blurring the edges, “The usual?”

Sakura sighs, “I’m _so short_ , Kabuto-kun.”

Kabuto bites back a smile, opening his mouth to say something pacifying.

Sakura cuts him off, “Hinata-chan is taller than me. _Hinata-chan_! She used to be so little, I could put her in my pocket if I wanted. But she grew and I didn’t. I’m still as little as before and it’s not fair. I’ve been eating and drinking everything my parents and Oba-san say I should, but nothing helps.” Sakura pouts, crossing her arms with a little _hmph_.

“Sak – ”

“Kakashi-sensei says I’ll get taller if I stretch every day, but Oba-san said that’s nonsense,” Sakura says gloomily, “I like Kakashi-sensei a lot, but he eats weird food even though his mouth is covered up all the time, and sometimes he smells like sake. So I don’t think he got tall by stretching.”

“How tall are your parents?” Kabuto asks, just barely managing to edge in before Sakura was about to launch into a detailed account of how she thinks Kakashi _actually_ got tall. It involves forbidden scrolls.

Sakura thinks about it. Before, she would have just said they were tall, but she knows better now, “Okaa-san is a little taller than you might think, but Otou-san is just the opposite,” She says wisely.

“Okay,” Kabuto says, “As long as you eat healthily and exercise often, your height won’t be stunted. That means no matter how tall you get – or don’t get – it will be alright, because that’s how tall you were always meant to be.”

Sakura blinks at him. She hadn’t thought about it like that before.

“Even if I don’t get any bigger than this?”

Kabuto’s aura is tinged a warm rose pink. He’s amused, “Even then.”

Sakura stretches her legs out, considering their length with a thoughtful look. She kicks her feet together and nods decisively, “Okay. Thank you, Kabuto-kun! You’re very nice.”

Kagami makes a choked noise but says nothing. She’s been trying to be more positive lately. It’s been strange, but Sakura appreciates that she’s trying.

Kabuto goes through the motions of a routine check-up, chatting with her all the while. Sakura likes him, even though she knows she shouldn’t. She doesn’t trust him, and she really doesn’t like knowing that she never would have suspected him without Kagami’s intervention. She shivers, imagining herself as a normal seven-year-old, sitting happily alone with an untrustworthy person.

But even as untrustworthy as Kabuto seems, it’s hard to ignore how benign and harmless his aura is whenever she meets him. He feels like a peppermint with a soft centre, surprisingly cool yet undeniably sweet.

The only times his aura ever darkens is when he doesn’t know Sakura is nearby. Like when she sees him talking with Shisui, both their expressions politely amiable, their auras twin storm clouds of distrust. She doesn’t know why they talk when they don’t even like each other, but Kagami has assured her that no shinobi has ever needed to enjoy another’s company. Especially not if there’s a job to do.

Sakura watches Kabuto adjust his glasses, his aura calm and focused, and wonders what job he might need to do with Shisui.

Kabuto places a hand on her back, telling her to breathe out.

Sakura, all too aware of the ridged scar hidden beneath her oversized cardigan, puffs out a panicked breath.

Kabuto’s hand stills.

Sakura remembers Fugaku discovering the scar in much the same way, the anger and suspicion he had felt when she showed it to him. She’d hoped she’d persuaded him it was an old wound from a long-gone problem, but she’s still not sure. He’s never happy around her parents, and both he and Mikoto watch her like a hawk when she comes over to play with Sasuke.

If Fugaku was a hard one to fool, Kabuto might be impossible.

“Sakura-chan, do you mind if I check your back?” Kabuto asks politely.

He won’t simply check without her permission. She could refuse, buy herself some time, make sure someone else does her ‘routine’ check-up, but then Kabuto would be even more suspicious.

_This wouldn’t be a problem if you would just let me heal the scar,_ Kagami says, irked.

_I wanted to let it heal naturally, so Kakashi-sensei wouldn’t be suspicious!_ Sakura protests.

_He knows your healing skills have improved over the years; he would assume you’d managed to do it alone._

Sakura knows Kagami is right, but Kagami doesn’t know why Sakura can’t do it.

She healed one of Kagami’s scars once, and it didn’t reappear on Kagami as she had feared, so that wasn’t the issue.

Since Shisui separated Sakura and Kagami, things had been easier. For the most part. Kagami now struggles to remember her old life, to the point where she _knows_ she doesn’t like or trust Sasuke and Itachi but has no idea why. And Sakura sometimes has trouble telling dreams apart from reality. She wakes up and thinks she’s Sakura-from-before, the Sakura whose only friend was Ino, Sakura who adored Sasuke from afar and disliked Naruto more than anything. When that happens, Sakura touches her back, feels the raised flesh beneath her fingernails, and knows who she is.

Without that tangible reminder of Kagami’s death and the beginning of Sakura’s life, she doesn’t know how she would cope.

Kagami had once said: _the mistakes we make leave scars to remind us not to do it again._ Back when her scar was an open wound, a constantly dripping reminder of her loss. She’s slowly been healing in more ways than one, but even Sakura finds it hard to look at Ino sometimes, knowing that one day, she might die at the hands of their friend, for reasons Sakura still doesn’t know. Kagami used to know, and the knowledge was a bitter poison she couldn’t swallow, the taste tainting every word she spoke.

It’s all fading now. Kagami is happier, but vaguer, her anger weakening along with her memories. Is it wrong for Sakura to let it happen?

“That’s fine,” Sakura says softly, hands folded in her lap.

Kabuto’s hand is warm and gentle when he touches her scar, a sharp contrast to the cold fury that sweeps through his aura, “Where did this come from, Sakura-chan?”

Sakura doesn’t look up, just quietly recounts the story she once told Kakashi, of Kumo nin in the alley, the accidental strike from a lightning jutsu. The sudden shock of agony in her back, the numbness that flooded through her spine, the way her jaws slammed shut. She took everything from her perfect recollection of Kagami’s death, and told it all in a low monotone, her gaze glued to the floor.

Kabuto laid his hand over hers.

She looked up, startled to feel the tell-tale prickle of tears.

“Who else knows?” Kabuto says, his gaze kind and attentive.

“Oba-san,” Sakura says, seeing no reason to connect Kakashi to the issue as well.

Kabuto’s kindly expression doesn’t waver, but his focus sharpens, “And your parents?”

Sakura bites her lip, shaking her head.

“This happened not long before Tsunade-sama returned to Konoha, I suppose?”

Sakura nods.

Kabuto sighs, a grim certainty permeating his aura, “I see. I’m sorry to ask, but is there any reason Tsunade-sama has not removed the scar, since she knows about it?”

“I didn’t want her to,” Sakura mumbles. This much is true. It might be ugly, she might have to take great pains in order to hide it, and it might turn hot or cold for no apparent reason every now and then, but it’s _hers._ It’s proof that Kagami really did live her life, that she really did die, and Sakura will never forget it.

“Does that mean you don’t want me to remove it as well?” Kabuto asks.

Sakura shakes her head, struggling to keep her face composed as tears threaten to form. Her chin wobbles, so she covers it with her hand.

“You’ve been very brave, Sakura-chan.” Kabuto says, his aura singing along with his words. He really means it. Sakura sniffs, feeling worse. She’s lying to him and he’s being nice. “But I need to ask just one more question, if that’s alright.” He waits for her to nod, then continues, his voice careful, “Please be honest with me. You won’t be in any trouble. Do you know the shinobi that attacked you?”

Sasuke’s face flashes in her mind.

“Um,” She says, struggling, “I think…”

_Do you need me?_ Kagami asks.

_Yes, please._

Kagami takes control, a seamless transition now they’ve been practising for so long. It feels like passing something heavy to someone else, but still being able to see everything they do with it.

Kagami lets her face settle into faint confusion, “No, Kabuto-kun. They looked like Kumo nin, but they didn’t have any hitae-ate.”

Kabuto pats her on the head, seemingly convinced, but Sakura feels suspicion burrowing into his aura’s core.

“That’s fine, Sakura-chan. It’s a good thing you didn’t know them, I guess, because I’d certainly want to have words with them,” Kabuto smiles, his voice light and filled with mirth, like they’re sharing a joke. Sakura feels his anger building beneath his amiable smile, and Kagami effortlessly represses her shudder. Kabuto’s fury isn’t pointed at her, but it still feels scary.

_Why didn’t he believe us, Onee-chan?_ Sakura asks, worried.

_He’s as suspicious as me,_ Kagami replies, _always inclined to think the worst no matter what._

_You’ve gotten a lot better at that, Onee-chan!_

Kagami just hums in response, unconvinced.

Sakura perks up, feeling three familiar chakra signals approaching. Kagami represses all signs of her excitement, faintly amused at Sakura’s inability to hide her emotions after practising for so long.

There’s a knock at the door and a discreet chakra flare, which feels like rich, damp soil permeating the room.

Kabuto straightens Sakura’s clothes, making sure she’s decent before saying, “Come in.”

Tenzo pokes his head into the room, smiling at the sight of Sakura. It’s his chakra that feels like the earth after it’s rained, the chakra Sakura associates the most with their clandestine Mokuton training, when Tenzo effortlessly controls the garden around them and Sakura struggles to even connect to nature at all.

“Hi, Tenzo-nii!” Sakura says, wiggling her feet in greeting.

“Hello,” He replies, his gaze warm, “Kabuto, we’ve come to have lunch, if you’re free.”

“Even if you’re not!” Another voice pipes up, and a girl edges past Tenzo into the room. Uchiha Izumi gives Kabuto a playful nudge to the shoulder, shaking her head. “We just had a chat with your superior, and she said you should have taken your break half an hour ago.”

She’s one of Itachi’s absolute favourite cousins, which means he actually talks to her without Mikoto strong-arming him into it. Her chakra feels like a bonfire at night, all warmth and smoke against the darkness. Sakura gets the feeling that Izumi isn’t always as happy as she appears.

“It isn’t good to skip breaks, Kabuto, you need to conserve your energy,” Inoichi agrees, leaning into the room.

“Excuse me, I have a patient,” Kabuto says, with a great sense of dignity, “You’re all bothering Sakura-chan.”

“No, we’re not,” Izumi argues.

“No, they’re not,” Sakura agrees.

“Fine, you’re bothering _me_ , then. Wait outside and I’ll come eat lunch when I’m free. Which is not right now, because, as you can see, I have a _patient_ ,” Kabuto says, his great dignity slightly punctured by Izumi’s derisive snort.

“Why did you even tell us to come in?” Izumi asks, crossing her arms as Kabuto attempts to guide her out of the room.

“I was being polite. I’ll explain about the concept of manners later when I have a spare five hours. Now, _out_ ,” Kabuto insists, jabbing Izumi in the ribs until she backs up into Tenzo, who nearly squishes Inoichi against the doorframe.

“It was nice to see you, Sakura-chan,” Inoichi waves from where Kabuto is ruthlessly shoving him, to no effect, “Ino wants to have a sleepover soon.”

“Okay, I can’t wait! See you later, Inoichi-san,” Sakura says, then freezes, remembering how she’d destroyed her mattress. She’ll have to try to persuade Ino to have the sleepover at either the Senju house or the Yamanakas’.

Tenzo winks at Sakura just before Kabuto manages to shut the door in his team’s faces.

“It’s nice that you get along so well,” Sakura says.

Kabuto smiles, his chakra frazzled yet happy. He likes having people to worry about him, Sakura thinks.

She’s glad he ended up on Tenzo’s team, even though she and Kagami had both been very worried when they found out about it. Tenzo had wanted to attend the Academy, but was judged to be at the very least genin-level in terms of skill, knowledge and experience, and was given a sensei and two teammates.

Sakura still remembers the joy on his face when Tsunade offered him a place in her family. She saw the same joy when Tenzo brought his teammates home for dinner for the very first time.

“I’ll just finish up here, then,” Kabuto says, glancing at the door with a slight sigh. Sakura can feel how Tenzo, Izumi and Inoichi are just outside, having not moved an inch since Kabuto forced them out.

Kabuto goes through the rest of the examination quickly, mindful of his nearby teammates. Sakura is familiar with standard exams, having sat through far too many, and remembers every step the nurses took. Kabuto takes one extra, nothing but idle curiosity in his aura.

He sinks into her chakra system, an exploratory motion.

Sakura feels his surprise and dismay ripple through his own aura, mirrored in hers through their connection.

Kabuto pulls away, the silence stretching between them for a long moment, before he speaks up, “Sakura-chan, I’m afraid your chakra coils are underdeveloped. I would have expected to see much larger coils in a girl of your talent and proficiency. Tell me… is it ever difficult to produce chakra for a technique?”

If she’s not using Kagami’s, it’s like getting blood from a stone. It’s the same level of difficulty as actively using Mokuton, not just letting it emerge spontaneously from her chakra.

_You’ve already been proven to have perfect chakra control. It wouldn’t make sense for you to struggle to use it,_ Kagami says, thinking quickly, _tell him it’s usually easy, but sometimes it can be hard._

Sakura dutifully repeats what Kagami said, Kabuto nodding along as she speaks.

“You’ll need to have lessons to increase your chakra reserves, and regular sessions at the hospital, where we can help encourage your coils’ growth,” Kabuto says, “Has no one ever noticed this problem before?”

Sakura shakes her head.

All the teachers at the Academy praised her chakra control and massive reserves, not realising she was mostly relying on Kagami. She had just wanted to graduate as quickly as possible before they could realise she wasn’t actually a genius, just a pretender with a secret advantage. None of the nurses before Kabuto had bothered to check her chakra system, presumably because of her age.

Kabuto visibly resists the urge to roll his eyes, “Well, it certainly would have been helpful to catch this issue earlier, but it’s good that we know now. I’ll write down the results of your exam for Tsunade-sama to examine, and she’ll undoubtedly know the best course of action to take.”

Sakura watches him write, noting the fluctuations in his chakra when he struggles to summarise the issue.

“I better go escort my team off the premises before they wreak havoc,” He says once he’s finished the report, a wry note in his voice, “And Sakura? If you change your mind about that scar, I will gladly take care of it for you.”

Something in his chakra tells Sakura he’s not just talking about healing her scar.

_He’s offering to take care of whoever scarred you,_ Kagami says bluntly.

Sakura sighs.

“I’m more worried about my height, honestly,” She says sadly.

Kabuto pats her head.

People do that a lot.

Sakura thinks it might be making her shorter.

xxxxxxxx

Jiraiya and Naruto are wearing matching grins when Sakura gets home. She huffs a little in amusement, toeing her shoes off and heading straight for her little brother. They greet each other with hugs now, with Naruto hugging as hard as he can, and Sakura pretending to do the same. Naruto had heard about the old Haruno tradition, and insisted on joining in.

Sakura picks Naruto up off the sofa and swings him around carefully. He laughs loudly into her ear, burying his face in her long hair.

“Hello again!” Sakura says, putting him down slowly enough for him to find his footing.

“Hi!” Naruto beams.

“Why do you kids always act like you’ve not seen each other in weeks?” Jiraiya asks, amused.

“We don’t! You just think we do ‘cause you’re not always here for weeks,” Naruto says sulkily, “So you forget what we’re like. You probably even forget our faces.”

Sakura’s heart sinks, “Are you going away again, ji-san?”

Jiraiya groans, throwing his head back and splaying dramatically across the sofa, “Ugh, save me from guilt-tripping kids!”

“Can’t. Won’t,” Kitagawa shrugs from where he is lurking like a bat, standing on the ceiling. He likes doing that, because his cape always sticks upright, and he won’t tell Sakura and Naruto how he does it.

“It won’t be for long. I’ve got work to do,” Jiraiya says, then hurries to clarify, “N-not that kind! With the b-books – a different job! I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone.”

Naruto’s face darkens, a sure sign he’s about to throw himself facedown on the carpet and stay there until someone drags him away.

“Why were you both so happy when I came home?” Sakura asks hastily, wanting to stave off a temper tantrum.

Naruto brightens up, “We did it! We finished the big seal! And I helped a lot, didn’t I, ji-san?”

“You did,” Jiraiya says sincerely, not humouring him at all, “I hadn’t even considered adding the ability to channel the energy back in a circuit between two seals. That was a stroke of true genius.”

Naruto puffs up like a proud pigeon, “And then you put the brackets around the seal to make it all stable!”

Jiraiya holds up a sheet of paper for Sakura to see. It’s an exceptionally complex design, filled with interlocking swirls and symbols. There’s a semi-circle around the seal like a curved arrow, which Jiraiya points at.

“D’you see this? It’s to redirect the flow of energy. This way you can channel it more than one way – both to the seal you’re directing the energy to, and back again. It’s a tricky piece of work, but I had the help of the greatest sealmaster’s apprentice that ever lived.” Jiraiya winks.

Naruto beams proudly, his sunshine cheer clearing away the storm clouds of his threatening tantrum.

Sakura steps back and squints at the page. It almost looks like –

( _She reels back for one last punch, throwing all of her weight and power behind it, and her fist_ grinds _into Sasori, his core loosening and flying back with the rest of his shattered remains, the kanji for_ scorpion _sharpening into focus in that one adrenaline-filled moment. Scorpion. Sasori._ )

Kitagawa drops down next to Sakura, casually suggesting it might be time for dinner soon. He does his best to distract others when Sakura dreams in front of them. Sakura appreciates it. She’s shaken, not by the dream for once, but by its implications.

_Kagami, do you think –_

_I don’t know_ , Kagami says miserably, _I really don’t want to get my hopes up._

_It’s not a bad idea, right?_

_I… It might be._

xxxxxxxx

“Oh no, it’s a great idea,” Tsunade says, “Track down a missing-nin and ask for his help, then trap Kagami in a puppet body for the rest of her life, which could potentially be forever, and that’s only if the missing-nin doesn’t simply _kill_ you.”

“He didn’t before,” Sakura says simply, “Kagami was too strong.”

_No, Sacchan, I… I had a lot of help, Chiyo-sama was –_

“Kagami was really strong and cool.” Sakura says, a little louder. Tsunade has said that Kagami needs better self-esteem, so Sakura won’t let her be mean about herself anymore. “The seal Jiraiya and Naruto have been working on was for Kagami, right? To transfer her soul to something else – ”

“I was intending for her vessel to be a corpse,” Tsunade says, though distaste crosses her face at the thought, “It’s not ideal, believe me, I know, but it would allow Kagami to feel and experience the world in a way a puppet body would not.”

Kagami goes rigid, golden eyes and a dark, menacing laugh stuck in her mind. Sakura coughs to shake them out.

“Kagami doesn’t want to be a corpse,” Sakura explains.

Tsunade pauses, clearly mulling it over. They’re in the kitchen, with the soundproof seals active. Tsunade had made them both Sweet Hot Milk and they’re sipping from matching mugs, sitting at the table.

“Kagami can’t really afford to be picky,” Tsunade says dryly, “Have you two been having any more issues?”

“Just the same as before. Kagami can’t remember things that well, and sometimes she remembers all of a sudden and gets really upset.”

Tsunade nods, tapping her chin, “Hmm. I’ll consider this, okay? I’m not dismissing it outright. It’s just a big ask, to suggest hunting down an S-rank missing-nin to get his help and trust him with such an important issue…”

“Do you think Shisui could help?” Sakura asks, a touch too eagerly, judging by Tsunade’s amused look.

“Your partner in crime would be very helpful,” She agrees, “Fill him in on the details whenever you’re in a secure place. But before that, we need to talk about this medical report.”

Sakura shrinks back in her chair.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re not in trouble. I’d never blame you for having health problems, who do you think I am? Fugaku?”

Sakura wrinkles her nose. Tsunade doesn’t look anything like Fugaku.

“Can I check your chakra system? It’d make me feel better to have examined it myself, so I don’t just have to rely on Tenzo’s little friend’s opinion,” Tsunade says, reaching out across the table to pat Sakura’s hand.

“I don’t mind,” Sakura says.

Tsunade checks her over, mouth tightening in displeasure when she’s forced to confirm Kabuto’s findings.

“You basically have the coils of a seven-year-old civilian. You rarely ever draw on your own reserves, so your coils go unused and stay weak and immature. They’re like muscles that have atrophied, meaning they’ve gone to waste. That means your body is unprepared for any kind of chakra use that comes from you, not Kagami, which leaves you vulnerable in the event of her being unavailable.”

Sakura squirms in her seat. It’s nothing she hasn’t heard before. Her bird friends warned her when they first met that she was relying on Kagami too much, and she’s had to face situations without Kagami’s chakra and struggled immensely by herself.

She should have done something about it, alerted Tsunade earlier, told one of the nurses as they examined her… but she hates making a fuss. She really hates causing trouble or being a burden. She hates conflict so much she’d do anything to avoid it.

The image of her mattress comes to mind, riddled with flowers and shoved into her wardrobe.

“It’s fine,” Tsunade smiles, as if able to hear Sakura’s internal struggle, “You’ve been bored ever since you graduated, right? I’ve been thinking of signing you up for an apprenticeship. There’s no guarantee you’d get anything related to medicine, but I can suggest something specifically to help build your chakra reserves and you’ll be sure to get something useful.”

“An apprenticeship? Like Kagami had with you?” Sakura asks, getting interested despite herself. She’d like to learn from Tsunade, if possible.

Tsunade shakes her head, “No familial ties allowed. You’d have Clan Heads apprenticing their own heirs and declaring them to be prodigies if you let them. You don’t have to worry. If you get something unsuitable, I can get it changed for you. Okay?”

Sakura drains her mug, deliberately letting the milk touch her upper lip so she’ll have a moustache when she makes eye contact with Tsunade, “Okay.”

Tsunade laughs, just like Sakura hoped she would.

xxxxxxxx

Sakura crawls into her bed, Misa and Momo curling up at her feet, and thinks about what she’s going to do next. She tries to visit all her friends on the days they aren’t at the Academy, so she has to schedule around them. She wants to see Itachi at some point, since he’s been fobbing her off with the ‘I’m too busy for fun’ excuse for too long.

She wants to see Shisui.

The older boy has an amazing ability to make her feel better about everything, no matter how dire the circumstances.

Shisui has been busy, but in a different way from Itachi. Sakura has asked Kakashi several times if Shisui is on missions or not, and Kakashi has reported back that there’s no record of any mission at the times Shisui has claimed to not be free.

Sakura allows herself a moment to worry, then takes a deep breath and blows it out, all of her worries going with it. She imagines them turning into bubbles and popping against the ceiling.

_It’s going to be alright, isn’t it, Onee-chan_?

_If it won’t be, we’ll make it,_ Kagami responds firmly.

Sakura smiles. Somewhere on the ceiling is her worry over the bed she ruined at her home with her parents. It’s okay as long as the worry is up there, not bothering her when she’s trying to sleep.

She sits up, kissing Misa and Momo’s heads, then snuggles back against her pillows. She buries her face in Miss Magnolia’s fur, imagining she has a pretty floral scent, just like real magnolias.

She drifts off.

Somewhere in her mind, Kagami has curled up to join her in sleep.

***

_“You’ll do,” Sasuke says._

_Sakura touches her hitae-ate, remembering the day it was given to her._

_“Why?” She asks._

_Sasuke’s mouth twitches, his pale, chapped lips almost smiling, “I need you, Sakura.”_

_The words go unspoken, floating between them._ Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?

_Sakura flinches._

_“Where is Naruto?”_

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends!  
> Remember that TFLA sequel I kept talking about? Here it is! The More it Takes Away, in all its belated glory. I hope you all like it so far!  
> It’s currently two in the morning, so the tradition of me finishing chapters and posting them after midnight carries on to the sequel! Wait, that’s not good –  
> Oh well.  
> I'm not currently looking for constructive criticism, just because I write this for fun rather than to get better at writing :)  
> So, Sakura is currently seven, almost eight.  
> Tenzo is on a genin team with Kabuto and Izumi! Yay! There’s absolutely nothing about this that could go wrong :D  
> Naruto’s dog Tamotsu is a red Tibetan Mastiff. Please look that up, for your own good. Now picture that, but even bigger. It’s Tamocchi! Sakura’s dogs are Shiba Inu, Misa is black and tan, Momo is silver and white. Lil cuties.  
> Sakura skipped chakra coil day and now she’s paying the price. A mystery apprenticeship to a mystery teacher! Who do you think it’ll be, and what do you think she’ll learn?  
> So, Sakura and Kagami’s idea is to use Jiraiya and Naruto’s energy transfer seal to transfer Kagami’s soul (which is made of energy) into one of Sasori’s puppets, giving her a body of her own, freedom outside of Sakura’s mind, and a possible end to all of their dream-related issues.  
> Sakura’s control over Mokuton is pretty non-existent. Having happy dreams about Ino made her literally grow a flowerbed around herself, but she struggles to deliberately make a single flower. Tricky! There’s probably a reason for that.  
> Kagami’s dreams are getting clearer, and yet her memory is getting worse. Oh dear!  
> No Itachi or Shisui in this chapter, but rest assured that they are on their way. They might already be lurking in the plans for the next chapter.  
> Sakura’s new playlist, tailor-made for this story: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2xbb12Ngoa2sJfgwzTkfPE
> 
> Quick poll for fun: What is your dream job? (It can be as unrealistic as possible. Go for it)  
> I could go for the obvious and say I’d like to be a successful author, but instead I will be fun and say I’d like to be one of those animal experts on TV. I would wear hideous jumpers with animal patterns and have animal-themed catchphrases and puns.
> 
> (Dogwatch Pupdate: Two good dogs fell asleep in a bed that became a flowerbed. Both dogs are confused, but not displeased. They would give the whole experience at least three tail wags worth of fun)


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